Backpacks not just for books

Dresden helps fund Rotary’s weekend food program

Published: Tuesday, July 2, 2013 9:11 a.m. CST

Caption

(Photo submitted)

Bowlers and members of Dresden’s United Way Committee present a check to Morris Rotary Club President John Carr (center) representing proceeds of the employees’ recent bowling event. The donation will help fund the “Blessings in a Backpack” program.

Have you ever gone a whole day without food? Two days?

Sadly, more than 500 children in Grundy County often go an entire weekend with little or no food.

“Childhood hunger is not just a third-world issue; it’s something that occurs right in our own community,” said Morris Rotary Club president John Carr. “Children who don’t have enough food do not perform well academically, display unacceptable behavior, and have poor school attendance due to illness and unexcused absences.”

But the Rotary Club is doing something about the problem. Through its Blessings in a Backpack program, students in need are given nutritious, easy-to-prepare foods that are sent home in backpacks on Friday afternoons to ensure that they have something to eat until they return to school for breakfast on Monday morning.

The employees at Exelon’s Dresden Generating Station are proud to be able to expand the program with a donation of nearly $3,200, which they raised during a recent bowling fundraiser.

“Giving back to the community is what Rotary is all about,” Carr said. “The Dresden employees share a common interest in that they don’t want to see a single child go hungry.”

He noted that the Dresden donation will be able to supply about 1,150 backpacks for students facing a lack of nutritious food.

“Our employees are extremely compassionate and have a great sense of pride in the station and in the surrounding communities,” said Dresden Site Vice President David Czufin.

Members of the station’s United Way committee organized the bowling fundraiser event.

To learn more about the Morris Rotary Club’s Blessings in a Backpack program, including how you can help, visit www.morrisrotary.org.

Dresden Generating Station is approximately 60 miles southwest of Chicago. The station’s two operating units can produce more than 1,800 megawatts net of electricity, enough to power nearly 2 million average homes.

Dresden Unit 1, which began commercial operation in 1960 and was retired in 1978, has been designated a Nuclear Historic Landmark by the American Nuclear Society.

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Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC) is the nation’s leading competitive energy provider, with 2012 revenues of approximately $23.5 billion. Headquartered in Chicago, Exelon has operations and business activities in 47 states, the District of Columbia and Canada. Exelon is one of the largest competitive U.S. power generators, with approximately 35,000 megawatts of owned capacity comprising one of the nation’s cleanest and lowest cost power generation fleets. The company’s Constellation business unit provides energy products and services to approximately 100,000 business and public sector customers and approximately 1 million residential customers. Exelon’s utilities deliver electricity and natural gas to more than 6.6 million customers in central Maryland (BGE), northern Illinois (ComEd) and southeastern Pennsylvania (PECO).